Criminal
Jul. 24, 2002
Jury Wants Killer Of Officer Executed
LOS ANGELES - Two years after a federal appeals court reversed his death sentence, a jury Monday recommended that Michael Anthony Jackson be executed for the killing of a West Covina police officer.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had held that a public defender in the earlier trial erred by failing to tell a jury how Jackson, 48, was abused by his mother. The jury also should have learned that Jackson was diagnosed schizophrenic as a child, and that he might have been unable to form intent because he was high on PCP the night he killed Officer Kenneth Scott Wrede, the court held in its May 2000 decision.
In the current case, defense lawyer Anthony Robusto told the jury about Jackson's past, Deputy District Attorney Darren Levine said, but it didn't help.
"The jury rejected any mitigation," Levine said. "That's evidenced by the fact that they took so little time to decide" to resentence Jackson to death. The jury took about two hours to decide.
Robusto could not be reached for comment.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charles E. Horan will formally sentence Jackson on Sept. 23.
Wrede, 26, was shot in August 1983 while responding to a report of a man acting strangely. Jackson killed the officer with a shotgun he yanked from a mounted rack in Wrede's police cruiser.
Levine, who retried the penalty phase, said Jackson has appellate rights, which will prevent him from returning to the head of the death row line.
Victim's family members are typically consulted before prosecutors decide to retry penalty phases, Levine said. Wrede's family, who have become outspoken victims' rights advocates, pressed to have Jackson retried
"This was something they wanted to do for their son," Levine said.
David Houston
david_houston@dailyjournal.com
For reprint rights or to order a copy of your photo:
Email
Jeremy_Ellis@dailyjournal.com
for prices.
Direct dial: 213-229-5424
Send a letter to the editor:
Email: letters@dailyjournal.com